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Posted: Thursday, April 28, 2005

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Sitting through the long-awaited film version of Douglas Adams' beloved book calls to mind another recent ambitious effort: last year's "I (Heart) Huckabees." Both have eclectic ensemble casts. Both mix complicated concepts with goofy physical comedy. Both have the courage to be just completely out there with wild ideas and images. After a while, though, "Hitchhiker's Guide" just feels like an onslaught of too much stuff - too many creatures, too many gadgets, too many elaborately absurd set pieces - all at the expense of character development and plot. Martin Freeman ("The Office"), Mos Def, Sam Rockwell and Zooey Deschanel are among the wayward intergalactic travelers, with Alan Rickman providing the ideally droll voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) 120 min. PG. Beechwood: 2:10, 4:35, 7:10 and 9:35 p.m. daily starting Friday; Carmike: 12:15, 2:40, 5:05, 7:30 and 9:55 p.m. daily starting Friday.

The Amityville Horror - Director Andrew Douglas piles on every cheap horror cliché imaginable in this remake of the 1979 hit, the story of a real-life family who claimed they were chased out of their new home - the site of a mass murder a year earlier - by evil spirits. Ryan Reynolds is so over-the-top as a demonically possessed stepfather, he comes off as a Joan Crawford-like Daddy Dearest for the supernatural set. His wife, Melissa George, is not much better, alternating between bland housewifery and shrill screaming. (David Germain, Associated Press) 117 min. R. Beechwood: 3:15, 5:25, 7:35 and 9:45 p.m. Thursday; 2:20, 4:30, 7:20 and 9:30 p.m. daily starting Friday; Carmike: 1, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30 and 9:50 p.m. Thursday; 12:45, 3, 5:10, 7:30 and 9:50 p.m. daily starting Friday.

Beauty Shop - In this "Barbershop" spin-off, Queen Latifah moves far from her Chicago shop to a posh Atlanta salon, but busts out on her own when her arrogant boss (Kevin Bacon) tries to take credit for her work. 105 min. PG-13. Beechwood: 2:15, 4:45, 7:15 and 9:45 p.m. Thursday; 2:15 and 4:45 p.m. daily starting Friday; Carmike: 1:30, 4:10, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday only.

Fever Pitch - Peter and Bobby Farrelly jettison the gross-out gags and freak-show humor with this warmhearted tale of a career woman in love with a dementedly devoted Boston Red Sox fan. Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon click sweetly as the couple whose romance heads into foul territory over his sports fixation (the movie was adapted from Nick Hornby's memoir about his obsession for soccer). The Farrellys nicely incorporate the sights and sounds of a town reveling in their team and bemoaning their fate as fans of one of the unluckiest franchises in sports. The filmmakers retooled the story as the Red Sox actually started winning and took their first World Series since 1918, a fairy-tale ending that would have been dismissed as Hollywood fluff if it had not really happened. (David Germain, Associated Press) 103 min. PG-13. Beechwood: 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m. daily; Carmike: 1:15, 4:45, 7:30 and 9:55 p.m. daily.

The Interpreter - A watchable but slack romantic thriller that is neither very thrilling nor particularly romantic. Packed with Oscar-winning talent, from stars Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn to director (and cameo-actor) Sydney Pollack, the film features Kidman as a UN interpreter from a fictional South African country beset by civil war and ethnic cleansing. After overhearing a conversation about an assassination she sets out to enlist the Secret Service in the form of agent Keller (Penn) and his partner, Dot (Catherine Keener). Competent, for the most part, occasionally involving and always pretty to look at, it's a pity the best one can say for "The Interpreter" is something gets lost in the translation. (Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel) 126 min. PG-13. Beechwood: 4, 7 and 9:45 p.m. daily, with additional shows at 1 p.m. Friday-Sunday; Carmike: 1, 4, 7 and 9:50 p.m. daily.

Kung Fu Hustle - Like a trip into writer/director/actor Stephen Chow's wildly inventive mind, where there are more unique ways of looking at familiar things than in any movie in years. The result is an experience that makes you feel like you've run a marathon. Chow is so fast he leaves you breathless but not quite fast enough to prevent you from noticing his latest movie doesn't have the emotion or sweetness of its predecessor, "Shaolin Soccer." (Chris Hewitt, Knight Ridder Newspapers) 120 min. R. Beechwood: 3:05, 5:25, 7:40 and 10 p.m. Thursday; 2:15, 4:45, 7:15 and 9:45 p.m. daily starting Friday; Carmike: 1, 3:15, 5:30, 7:45 and 10 p.m. Thursday; 1, 4:15, 7 and 9:20 p.m. daily starting Friday.

Sahara - Matthew McConaughey is all charm but little heft as Dirk Pitt, the explorer hero of the Clive Cussler novel on which the movie is based. Steve Zahn plays the wisecracking best friend with whom he's searching for a long-lost Civil War battleship. And Penelope Cruz looks like she just stepped from one of her Ralph Lauren ads, even though she plays a doctor searching for the source of a mysterious plague in the unforgiving West African terrain. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) 124 min. PG-13. Beechwood: 4:10, 7:10 and 9:55 p.m. daily with additional shows at 1:10 p.m. Friday-Sunday; Carmike: 1:10, 4, 7 and 9:45 p.m. daily.

Sin City - This hard-boiled homage to Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett is simultaneously the most boldly original comic-book adaptation yet and one of the nastiest films in a long while. Director Robert Rodriguez packs in images startling in their originality and action that frequently flirts with utter odiousness. With glorious black-and-white imagery augmented by splashes of color, the movie is a masterful technical achievement with the emotional underpinning of a stunted male adolescent. Adapted from Frank Miller's noirish comics, "Sin City" is a movie where men are men and women are target practice. The film features three bloody tales, with a cast including Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Mickey Rourke, Benicio Del Toro and Jessica Alba. Miller shares directing credit, while Rodriguez pal Quentin Tarantino spent a day as "guest director." (David Germain, Associated Press) 126 min. R. Beechwood: 4:25 and 9:40 p.m. Thursday; 4:15 and 9:20 p.m. daily starting Friday; Carmike: 1:10, 4, 7 and 9:45 p.m. daily.

Alt. screens

Are We There Yet - Ice Cube plays a playboy bachelor trying to woo a divorced mother of two by offering to bring her kids to the city from Washington, D.C., on what turns out to be a very long road trip. 91 min. PG. Georgia Square: 7:20 p.m. daily, with additional shows at 1:45 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Because of Winn Dixie - Based on the best-seller, the film stars AnnaSophia Robb as a lonely girl who adopts an orphaned dog, Winn-Dixie (so named for the supermarket where she found him), who helps her make friends in her small Florida town. 106 min. PG. Georgia Square: 4:40, 7:15 and 9:40 p.m. Thursday; 4:40 p.m. daily starting Friday, with additional shows at 1:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Constantine - Keanu Reeves plays a demon battling investigator of the supernatural and teams up with a female police detective (Rachel Weisz) who seeks his help in uncovering the suicide-like death of her twin sister. 121 min. R. Georgia Square: 4:05, 7:10 and 9:55 p.m. daily starting Friday, with additional shows at 1:10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - It's likely, as is the case with Wes Anderson's previous films, this one will appeal only to his fans for its subtleties and dryly delivered wit. But rest assured, Bill Murray's title character performance is yet another fine one. As Zissou, Murray is a Cousteau-like figure who's all but washed up, with more interest in his Jacuzzi than the deep sea. But when a man claiming to be his son (Owen Wilson, another Anderson regular) enters his life, something changes for Steve-z, a small awakening that is painful, comic and ultimately wonderful. Set with silly, fantastical creatures and unlikely adventures, the film proves Anderson's one fish who can swim against the mainstream and still create a current others will be more than willing to swim in. 118 min. B+; R. Tate: 3, 5:15, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday-Sunday, April 29-May 1.

Man of the House - Tommy Lee Jones plays a tough Texas Ranger assigned to guard a group of cheerleaders who have witnessed a murder and are in danger of being offed by the killer. 98 min. PG-13. Georgia Square: 4:25, 7:05 and 9:25 p.m. daily, with additional shows at 2:05 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

National Treasure - Big, loud, dumb and fun, "Treasure" is everything we have come to know and love from the Bruckheimer school of film. Nicolas Cage lays down a Masonic history lesson, reminding us "if there is something wrong, those with the ability to take action have a responsibility to take action" - especially if that action is stealing the Declaration of Independence (yeah, it's a buried treasure map) and uncovering the legendary spoils of the Founding Fathers (I must have slept through that day in school). Yes, it's long and over-the-top, yes, the sexual tension is glopped on like Tammy Faye's makeup and yes, the ending is a giant saptastic corndog - but damn, it's fun! Hey, at least it isn't "Pearl Harbor." (Ryan Lewis, staff) 131 min. PG. Georgia Square: 4:10 and 9:35 p.m. daily.

The Phantom of the Opera - The adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Weber's famous opera, this romantic musical epic follows the mysterious masked Erik (Gerard Butler) who roams 19th century Paris and the Opera Populaire, where he tutors a beautiful young soprano, Christine (Emmy Rossum), who goes on to dethrone the city's most famous opera singer, Carlotta (Minnie Driver). 143 min. PG-13. Georgia Square: 4, 7 and 10 p.m. daily, with additional shows at 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Reflejos del Barrio: Folkloric Dances of Mexico & the Aman Folk Ensemble - A look at different types of folk dances in recognition of National Dance Week, from the Peabody Awards Collection archives. (Review from source.) Not rated. Athens-Clarke County Library: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28.

The Royal Tenenbaums - Wes Anderson's quirky 2001 family drama stars Gene Hackman in the title role as a man estranged from his family, trying to make amends. Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow and Luke Wilson star as his three now adult child prodigies, Angelica Huston as his wife. 109 min. R. Tate: 3, 6 and 9 p.m. Thursday, April 28.